Welcome to Issue 11

The artists we’ve interviewed for the last several editions of Digital Art Live had one thing in common; they were blown away by the capabilities of 3D digital art, even with the early software tools they’d encountered. They could create an entire world and control everything in it, even before breakfast—and not many hobbies allow for that!

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In this issue:-ARTIFEX
Can fractal art and Poser people live in harmony? Having seen the amazing landscape art of Artifex, we’d say… yes!
MANDELBULB | POSER
“To study properly in the use of Mandelbulb 3D… that took me two years. Adding Poser people to the Mandelbulb renders … that was something I attempted almost immediately.”

LEWIS MOORCROFT
Lewis is a veteran user of the MojoWorld software, creating stylized 3D sci-fi landscapes that convey a real sense of vast spaces.
MOJOWORLD
“The MojoWorld software is so open, in terms of possibilities that it really gives artists the opportunity to express and develop their own style…”

ROB WILDENBERG
We catch up with Rob while he’s on holiday in Italy — to talk Vue, 8k renders, and natural textures for photorealism.
VUE | WORLD MACHINE
“I’m working with World Machine to create 8k terrains in the software. I can tell you, the outcome is stunning! World Machine is by far my favorite terrain creating application!”

TIGAER
The MAKING OF ‘BEASTS SHALL RISE’
VUE | PHOTOSHOP

TERRAGEN VIRTUAL REALITY COMPETITION WINNERS

GALLERY : FUTURE OCEANS

Sample Interview from Issue 11

DAL: Hi Rob, and welcome to this special ‘future landscape’ themed issue of Digital Art Live magazine. Many thanks for agreeing to do an interview with us, even while you’re away on holiday in sunny Italy. I hope you enjoying the place you’re staying at.

RW: Thanks a lot for this interview.Yes, I’m in Italy right now, in nice warm weather and amid lots of beautiful scenery.I will use the scenery as a reference for my upcoming work. Due to my stay here in Italy, I must answer all your questions with the help of my iPad. So it’s a kind of a struggle, but I try to do it as well as possible

DAL: Many thanks. Well, I have to start by congratulating you on the quality of your Vue landscape work. We can only feature some of the science-fiction pictures here, but readers should definitely visit your gallery at the end of the interview. And see the rest of your landscape work.

RW: Thanks a lot of for this big compliment David, I’m flattered.

DAL: Let’s start by talking your general interest in science fiction. How did this come about, for you?

RW: It started at a young age, I was always intrigued by anything that has to do with the future. Going to sci-fi movies, reading sci-fi and fantasy books.

DAL: What’s your favourite sci-fi today?

RW: Without a doubt, Avatar, it was awesome, beautifully and the visuals are truly stunning.Recently, Interstellar and The Martian from belong also to my all time favourites. And of course the original Alien trilogy, with the beautiful art from H.R. Giger is definitely in my top ten!

DAL: And then how did you discover 3D art, and start making pictures?

RW: Oh, my interest in 3D art started long ago. I bought myself an Amiga computer and started to play with programs like Vista Pro and Imagine 3D! Those were the first steps for me to create 3D graphics and never stopped since.

DAL: Ah, yes Vista Pro.I remember that was one of the first 3D landscape programmes I had on my PC, the gift of a free magazine CD.What problems did you have to overcome, when you first started?

RW: Lots of problems, but most of all they were language related.Technical English is so completely different than the conversational and shopping English that you learn at school.

DAL: You’re based in Amsterdam. Tell us about Amsterdam these days, please.It’s been a long time since I was there, around 25 years ago now. What is the digital art scene / GFX industry like there, today? Is it still a good place to be a working artist?

RW: Well, to be honest my live as a working artist fully takes place on the Web, so I actually haven’t got a clue if there’s actually some kind of digital art scene here in Amsterdam. Most of the digital artist I know are from all over the globe, and only a few of them are based in or from the Netherlands.

DAL: Interesting. Yes, well I guess that shows how global we can be in out creativity and creative connections, these days.I see that there’s also a strong attraction in your picture to the sea and large lakes. Is that also something that features in your work life or are you perhaps a sailor or a diver? Or does it perhaps come from the nature of Amsterdam, in which the North Sea is always nearby?

RW: Nice that you have noticed that. I love water especially the turquoise coloured water, of the sort — for example — that it often seen here in Italy in the summer. It’s so beautiful that I can look at it for hours. In my childhood days I used to like to surf the seas and lakes in Europe.I was also a competition swimmer for almost thirteen years. So yes… I have a thing for water!

DAL: I see new pictures from you, such as “Dunes” (May 2016), where you’re really pushing Vue very hard toward absolute photorealism. Is that an important path that you plan to follow in future?

RW: Yes, it’s very important to me to be able to create photorealistic images. That feature, and the developer’s drive toward it, is what I like the most about 3D applications.Now… being on holiday in Italy I have made many photographs of the beautiful nature here, and I’m will sure these will be used as a reference for upcoming work! I also made a lot of images that can be used for creating my own materials, like rock, ground, bark and leaves!

DAL: Sounds good. How much time do you typically spend on Vue postwork? I think the temptation for an artist is, when a large render Vue gives us such luscious details, to really work on lots of tiny details! The waves crashing onto rocks, in your ocean pictures like “Amalfi”, for instance. Do you add details like that in Vue, or post? Or both?

RW: Not that much, mainly I use Photoshop for colour, highlights and shadow corrections. About my picture “Amalfi”, most of the crashing waves were actually created in Vue itself — except for the ‘splatter effect’ as the waves crest, for which you definitely need to get into the detail with a tool like Photoshop.